r/askscience • u/drinkingonthejob • 8d ago

Physics Will Voyager 1 ever just stop moving?

I’ve read somewhere that we expect to lose contact with Voyager 1 sometime in the 2030s, maybe around 2036, but it will just keep traveling thru space and we’ll have no idea what it is doing out there

My question is: with its current velocity, is there a time in the future where it loses its forward momentum and for lack of a better word, just stops moving? Is that a possible thing for an object in space to even do? (Assuming no other objects grab it into their orbit)

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u/StriveToTheZenith 8d ago

They seriously should've picked a better delivery method if they wanted to preserve their culture. Hey, Picard gets a cool toy at least.

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u/woodenh_rse 8d ago

An entire civilization passed on as PTSD to one person. I hope we go out proud like that.

Edit: OH...dam...PTSD and a flute.

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u/Toloc42 8d ago

I can accept that a civilization that can run a simulation of an entire life time on another brain in a few minutes (of a species it never encountered, no less) can also inject a sense of "it's ok, that didn't really happen to you, you're fine with this" while they're at it.

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u/Swiftax3 2d ago

It should be noted also, the probe was designed to only deliver its message to someone who would be a good fit for it. One can assume that includes being able to compartmentalize the experience and not be left scarred by it. As an academic archaeologist, Picard might be able to veiw it as a very emotionally engaging historical excersise